The Community 5 with Joelle Kanshepolsky

“If we’re not focused on protecting our community, no one else is,” said Joelle Kanshepolsky, executive director of Local First Utah.

Shop at local businesses. Local businesses can be identified by the Local First web cling in their windows. They can also be found on the Local First web site.

Get local businesses to register with Local First. According to the Local First web site, a local business is independent and at least 51% owned by Utah residents. Registration is free and can be done here.

Be conscious of your impact. The big box stores have their place in our community, but by thinking a little more about the purchases we make and where we make them, we will be making a conscious choice. Realizing that what we are buying is something that we can get locally rather than at a chain is the first step in shifting our spending.

Shift 10% of your spending to local businesses. By shifting just 10% of your spending from a national chain to a local business, you will be contributing to an economic increase, including job creation. Local First’s pamphlet shows that 68 cents out of every dollar spent at a local business stays in our community as compared to only 43 cents out of every dollar spent at a non-local business.

Educate yourself about shopping locally and then educate your friends and family. Knowledge is the most important tool any of us has. Learn what businesses are local and what products are made locally. The Local First web site is a good start. You can also learn about locally made products at the Utah’s Own web site.

The Community 5 are suggestions for you to take action to make your community better. Viewpoints of the individual may not reflect the viewpoints of the organization they volunteer for.​This article was originally published on examiner.com. Links have been updated August 2016.